I was as curious as ever to see the final numbers for this deer season to come out. With the lack of deer spotting and the drought bringing EHD into the picture, I was expecting to see the number of harvests significantly smaller this year from last. I was wrong...
Statewide, a hunter could harvest 2 deer within archery season; either a doe and a buck (antlerless and one antlered) or 2 does. You could only harvest one antlered deer in all 3 archery, firearm, or muzzleloader seasons. In Noble County, you could harvest 8 bonus antlerless deer but throughout the state the numbers ranged A through 8. "A" meant that it could only be used after November 29th and you could not harvest bonus does before then.
A grand total of 136,248 deer were harvested in the state of Indiana during the 2012 deer season, archery to late firearm season. This number is 6% HIGHER than the 129,018 deer harvested in the 2011 season. I was very surprised at these numbers as many of us around the Noble County area didn't see the number of deer we have in the past. Antlered deer harvest was down 9% from last year however, but the antlerless deer taken were 15% higher. Over 50% of all deer harvested this season were taken in the firearms season from November 17th to December 2nd.
For the first time, Indiana held a late antlerless season in counties with a bonus county designation of 4 or more. The reported number was 10,091 taken during this season.
Counties with the highest harvest numbers were as follows; Switzerland, Dearborn, Harrison, Franklin, Steuben, Parke, Washington, Kosciusko, Marshall and Noble.
Indiana DNR then came out with a section called "Disease Monitoring" with the number one being EHD, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease. There were confirmed cases in 29 counties and 38 other counties reporting occurrence totaling 67 out of Indiana's 92 counties.
EHD is a disease that mainly affects white-tailed deer in the U.S. It is caused by a virus that spreads by biting flies typically in late summer and early fall. Outbreaks are usually worse during drought years, which makes sense as to why it was so prevalent this year. In the beginning stages, deer appear feverish and tend to seek water. Other signs and symptoms are blueish tongue, eroded dental pad, and sloughed hooves. It is usually fatal to deer, however some may survive. If this is the case they can pass antibodies onto their offspring making them less susceptible to the disease but unfortunately, much like the human flu, there are many different strands of the disease. Many folks were concerned about contracting EHD from the deer meat, but humans are not at risk at all. I will post later on what I find out about specific numbers for the death toll from EHD in Indiana and how it will impact us in the future. For more information on this disease click here... http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-EHDFaqSheet.pdf
As you can see the numbers from the 2012 Season Summary were elevated compared to last year. I was honestly very surprised because I myself saw less deer out hunting than I had previously. Many folks that we have talked to and everyone up at our deer shop agreed... this year was MUCH different. I am anxious to see what next year brings! What do ya'll think???
If you would like to read the full summary of the 2012 deer season you can click the link below.
http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-2012_Deer_Season_Summary.pdf
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